Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that his administration will investigate the long-delayed California high-speed rail project, which was authorized by voters in the state in 2008.

California has dedicated billions to the project so far, yet no track has been laid. According to recent California High-Speed Rail Authority disclosures, 38 structures and 39 miles of guideway have been completed after spending $13.6 billion.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said it is the “worst managed project” he has seen and “hundreds of billions of dollars” over budget.

The president said the overruns for the rail project, expected to span approximately 460 miles once complete, are the worst of any project in the history of the United States.

“You could take every single person that was going to go on the train and get the finest limousine service in the world, and take them back and forth with limousines, and you'd have hundreds of billions of dollars left over,” Trump said.

“It is the worst thing, and we’re going to start an investigation of that because it’s not possible.”

The state is currently focused on building 171 miles of train line from Merced to Bakersfield in California’s Central Valley.

California Policy Center Visiting Fellow Marc Joffe told The Epoch Times that, like the president, he’s not optimistic about the high-speed rail’s future.

“If things go according to plan, they'll have spent a total of $35 billion,” he said of the Bakersfield-Merced line.

“The original estimate for that same length of track from Anaheim to San Francisco was $33 billion.”

From the proposed Los Angeles-area station to San Francisco, the overall project is expected to cost up to $128 billion—$95 billion more than originally projected.

Joffe said the overages are due to numerous reasons, such as disorganization on the part of the state at the start of the rail project.

“They’ve also had a lot of trouble acquiring all of the land that they needed,” he said. Instead of running the track along or in the median of I-5, the state decided to run the line through the Central Valley.

“That required them to work out deals with landowners or exercise eminent domain,” Joffe said. “That all takes a lot of time.”

The bullet train is being built by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, a state agency established in 1996.

The authority’s CEO Ian Choudri spoke about the project with reporters Jan. 30 during an industry forum in Sacramento.

“I stepped into this role knowing very well the path forward would be challenging. It’s not going to be easy. But we are definitely going to work together to make it happen,” Choudri said.

“The Authority is laser-focused on building more and getting it delivered sooner, economically smarter, and faster. And we can do it. It’s not complicated.”

Choudri said the project will be run responsibly. “We will run it like a business and make sure we are investing every dollar wisely.”

The latest official project update was released by the state in 2023, according to the California Legislature’s biennial update requirements. That same year the federal government earmarked $6 billion for the high-speed rail project. In 2019, Trump criticized the project and rescinded nearly $1 billion in federal funding.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated progress on the project on Jan. 6 and said passengers could begin riding the high-speed trains by as early as 2030.

“We’re moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network,” Newsom said in a statement. “The future of transportation is being realized right here in the Central Valley with thousands of good paying jobs already created and 171 miles being worked on. As only California can, we’re building America’s biggest infrastructure project.”

In contrast, during his first State of the State message in February 2019, Newsom had said the project would be too expensive and time-consuming.

“The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency,” the governor said. “Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to LA. I wish there were.”

“However, we do have the capacity to complete a high-speed rail link between Merced and Bakersfield. I know that some critics will say this is a ‘train to nowhere.’ But that’s wrong and offensive,” Newsom added.

Then Gov. Jerry Brown approved legislation authorizing the commencement of construction for the project in 2012.